Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wednesday, September 25
Bowling Green, OH
3:30 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Orange vs. Brown
Falcon Swimming Ready For 2013-14 Season
September 23, 2013 | Women's Swimming & Diving
2013 Roster | 2013 Schedule | BGSU Swimming On Facebook | BGSU Swimming On Twitter
The Bowling Green State University swimming team is currently preparing for the upcoming 2013-14 season, as their first meet is just a week and a half away. The Falcons will compete in the annual Orange and Brown exhibition meet on Wednesday (Sept. 25) before hosting the Tom Stubbs Relay on Friday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m. at Fremont Ross High School. Below, head coach Petra Martin answers some questions about the upcoming season.
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BGSUFalcons.com: Talk about how the team is progressing through training early on in the season, especially with how young the team is this season.
Petra Martin: It's kind of funny, because we thought we had a young team last season. But we have a really young team this year. We have a total of 24 swimmers and 17 of them are underclassmen. The nice thing with that group, though, is that they want to learn and are open to change. We have been spending a lot of time on some basic stuff and fundamentals that I think definitely needs to be improved upon, especially with the newcomers.  The freshmen have been learning how to use their body and mind correctly, and learning a whole new way of looking at their swimming.  If we get all these things down I believe that we can be really good. As a team, we seemed to be pretty well connected even this early on in the year. We have been focusing on working well together as a team, being accountable and responsible for each other and individually. Our captains—Carmen Young (junior) and Emily Waller (senior)—have been doing a great job bringing everyone together, as well, plus a lot of other people on the team have been really stepping up and being leaders and motivators in their own ways. It feels like we are on a mission already and that is great to see.
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Talk about how important the leadership is on this year's team with so many underclassmen
PM: Strong leadership is always crucial but it's especially important with this type of a young makeup of the program. The great thing about our seniors and juniors is that they have been here through success but also through some tough times; they have seen both sides of the coin and have seen what happens if we don't stay on top of our game with everything that we do. I think that the upperclassmen have been doing a nice job making the underclassmen understand that. It takes a long time to build success; it only takes a moment to lose it all. So, the attention to detail on this team is a priority, aligning everyone with the team goals is crucial and having everyone tuned in and focused is imperative. The leaders of this team understand that and are reinforcing that approach from within.
Â
How did last year's third place finish help the program, and how does it springboard the team into even better results this year?
PM:  I think it really showed the team that the system works, and if we do what we are supposed to, we will be successful.  I also believe it gave us more confidence. At the same time I think that people will look at us differently this season, we are not the underdog anymore and people have different expectations from us. But what really matters is how we look at ourselves and what we expect from us. It's probably a little bit easier coming from behind especially before we get more comfortable around the top "of the mountain" and learn how to deal with more pressure. But, as I said, I think that we are more confident and we learned a thing or two and that is always helpful. More knowledge and confidence are good, but again we have to put in the hard and smart work and keep on learning over and over again so that we can keep on moving forward. In a way we also need to stay humble and not underestimate any of our competitors. Our approach of how we do things every day and our focus doesn't change. If we take care of our business we will have a great year. What we did last year was great but we are in a new time now, past success doesn't guarantee future success if we don't take care of our business now.
Â
What do you focus on early on in the season to make sure the team is getting prepared for the MAC Championships at the end of the year?
PM:  We are looking at progressions with each person and us as a team. Are we getting better technically, pacing, racing strategies, are we getting more powerful, smarter, tougher under more pressure?  We also keep watching their mental preparation and how they are able to handle themselves. The team aspect is crucial as well. We want to see the team getting stronger and better as a group, supporting each other, communicating better, being accountable and honest with each other. We are looking at our ladies' times, but our times are much different at the end of the year than they are now. So, it's a little bit of everything—we look at the total package
Â
Talk about the importance of the success that Daniela (Carrillo) had internationally this summer.
PM: Daniela's experience from the World University Games was definitely something that I hope she learned from a lot. When you earn the opportunity to represent your country it is something very special. I think that her being around some of the top swimmers in the world opened up her eyes a little bit. She was able to see how top level swimmers approach their meet preparation on this level. She also had to learn how to navigate her way through a completely different environment and how to take care of herself. I hope that this will help her down the road. We have some big goals in the future and this was the right type of a stepping stone for her. Her representation of Falcon swimming at a meet like this is obviously a great recruiting tool for us as well. We have a good amount of international student-athletes on our team, and I am all about having a global approach to recruiting. It definitely adds a value to the program and the University, and it opens up different doors and perspectives for people.
Â
How does the addition of the diving program (for the 2014-15) season help your program achieve the overall goal of becoming a MAC Championship team?
PM: It's a phenomenal addition and we are so excited about it. We want to win and this will definitely give us a much better opportunity to do that. We are all looking forward to having both of the scoring parts of the program performing together and scoring a lot of points as a team.
Â
How do the renovations to the Student Recreation Center (Home of Cooper Pool) benefit the program?
PM: There are so many great things happening—for us and for the University as a whole.  The new updated REC Center will look really good; we are looking at pretty much a brand new building. It will be a great new environment to train and host meets in. It will also be very helpful for recruiting; it's always more exciting to bring recruits or fans to a great new exciting place that yet has so much great history behind it. Things are coming together - with diving, a renovated REC center, the new video board—it is all very exciting and we are thankful for all the improvements and additions. There will be a lot of exciting newness and freshness in the fall of 2014.
Â
What are the team's goals and expectations for this season?
PM: Our goal is always to get better—and whatever that is, we'll find out. We all know what we did last year and we want to springboard from that.  We know where we would want to be at the end of the year but we try not to get overwhelmed by that. We see it more as an opportunity of greatness that can present itself if we take the right steps and take advantage of all the great moments that we have every day to make ourselves better. We set small goals for every day, every workout, that are in alignment with the great opportunity that we can have at the end of the year. It is the same approach that we took last year and it seemed to work well. So, I would say that our main goal is to be focused on now and being in the moment every day.
Â
The Falcons will only host one home dual meet in 2013-14, as the Student Recreation Center is currently undergoing renovations during the current school year. The Falcons return 15 swimmers from last season's team that finished third at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Â
After a record breaking season in 2012-13, the Falcons will look to build upon their success in the pool this season. Head Coach Petra Martin enters her fourth season as the head coach, while assistant coach Michael Shelby will return for his third season.
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The Orange and Brown return individual record holders at six of 14 events this season. Brittany Szekely returns as the school record holder in the 100 free, while Joëlle Scheps returns with the school record in the 200 free. Emily Waller rounds out the individuals who return with school records in the freestyle events, as she is the current school record holder in the 500 free. In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Jordan Bullock returns as the school record holder. Sophomore Daniela Carrillo returns with school records in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.
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This summer, Carrillo represented Mexico at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia. She was the only student-athlete from Bowling Green State University to participate in the Games.
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The Falcons also return at least one individual in all five team relay events that have been part of a school record-breaking relay team. At the 200 free relay, Brittany Szekely returns from the relay team that set the school mark of 1:31.50 in 2012. Szekely, along with Joëlle Scheps and Hannah Newman, returns from the 2013 400 free relay team that set the school record with a time of 3:23.78. The 800 free school record was last broken in 2010, when Emily Waller—a 2013-14 senior and captain—was a freshman in Martin's first season at the helm. Both the 200 and 400 medley relay records were set last season, as Jordan Bullock returns in both events. Szekely was also a part of the 400 medley relay team that set a mark of 3:41.00.
Â
The Orange and Brown bring in nine freshmen this season, as they'll add depth and competition to the team at each event. The Falcons will look to build upon their third place finish from last season, as the seven upperclassmen will be relied on to show the 17 underclassmen what it takes for the Falcons to fight at the top of the MAC at the end of the season.
The Bowling Green State University swimming team is currently preparing for the upcoming 2013-14 season, as their first meet is just a week and a half away. The Falcons will compete in the annual Orange and Brown exhibition meet on Wednesday (Sept. 25) before hosting the Tom Stubbs Relay on Friday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m. at Fremont Ross High School. Below, head coach Petra Martin answers some questions about the upcoming season.
Â
BGSUFalcons.com: Talk about how the team is progressing through training early on in the season, especially with how young the team is this season.
Petra Martin: It's kind of funny, because we thought we had a young team last season. But we have a really young team this year. We have a total of 24 swimmers and 17 of them are underclassmen. The nice thing with that group, though, is that they want to learn and are open to change. We have been spending a lot of time on some basic stuff and fundamentals that I think definitely needs to be improved upon, especially with the newcomers.  The freshmen have been learning how to use their body and mind correctly, and learning a whole new way of looking at their swimming.  If we get all these things down I believe that we can be really good. As a team, we seemed to be pretty well connected even this early on in the year. We have been focusing on working well together as a team, being accountable and responsible for each other and individually. Our captains—Carmen Young (junior) and Emily Waller (senior)—have been doing a great job bringing everyone together, as well, plus a lot of other people on the team have been really stepping up and being leaders and motivators in their own ways. It feels like we are on a mission already and that is great to see.
Â
Talk about how important the leadership is on this year's team with so many underclassmen
PM: Strong leadership is always crucial but it's especially important with this type of a young makeup of the program. The great thing about our seniors and juniors is that they have been here through success but also through some tough times; they have seen both sides of the coin and have seen what happens if we don't stay on top of our game with everything that we do. I think that the upperclassmen have been doing a nice job making the underclassmen understand that. It takes a long time to build success; it only takes a moment to lose it all. So, the attention to detail on this team is a priority, aligning everyone with the team goals is crucial and having everyone tuned in and focused is imperative. The leaders of this team understand that and are reinforcing that approach from within.
Â
How did last year's third place finish help the program, and how does it springboard the team into even better results this year?
PM:  I think it really showed the team that the system works, and if we do what we are supposed to, we will be successful.  I also believe it gave us more confidence. At the same time I think that people will look at us differently this season, we are not the underdog anymore and people have different expectations from us. But what really matters is how we look at ourselves and what we expect from us. It's probably a little bit easier coming from behind especially before we get more comfortable around the top "of the mountain" and learn how to deal with more pressure. But, as I said, I think that we are more confident and we learned a thing or two and that is always helpful. More knowledge and confidence are good, but again we have to put in the hard and smart work and keep on learning over and over again so that we can keep on moving forward. In a way we also need to stay humble and not underestimate any of our competitors. Our approach of how we do things every day and our focus doesn't change. If we take care of our business we will have a great year. What we did last year was great but we are in a new time now, past success doesn't guarantee future success if we don't take care of our business now.
Â
What do you focus on early on in the season to make sure the team is getting prepared for the MAC Championships at the end of the year?
PM:  We are looking at progressions with each person and us as a team. Are we getting better technically, pacing, racing strategies, are we getting more powerful, smarter, tougher under more pressure?  We also keep watching their mental preparation and how they are able to handle themselves. The team aspect is crucial as well. We want to see the team getting stronger and better as a group, supporting each other, communicating better, being accountable and honest with each other. We are looking at our ladies' times, but our times are much different at the end of the year than they are now. So, it's a little bit of everything—we look at the total package
Â
Talk about the importance of the success that Daniela (Carrillo) had internationally this summer.
PM: Daniela's experience from the World University Games was definitely something that I hope she learned from a lot. When you earn the opportunity to represent your country it is something very special. I think that her being around some of the top swimmers in the world opened up her eyes a little bit. She was able to see how top level swimmers approach their meet preparation on this level. She also had to learn how to navigate her way through a completely different environment and how to take care of herself. I hope that this will help her down the road. We have some big goals in the future and this was the right type of a stepping stone for her. Her representation of Falcon swimming at a meet like this is obviously a great recruiting tool for us as well. We have a good amount of international student-athletes on our team, and I am all about having a global approach to recruiting. It definitely adds a value to the program and the University, and it opens up different doors and perspectives for people.
Â
How does the addition of the diving program (for the 2014-15) season help your program achieve the overall goal of becoming a MAC Championship team?
PM: It's a phenomenal addition and we are so excited about it. We want to win and this will definitely give us a much better opportunity to do that. We are all looking forward to having both of the scoring parts of the program performing together and scoring a lot of points as a team.
Â
How do the renovations to the Student Recreation Center (Home of Cooper Pool) benefit the program?
PM: There are so many great things happening—for us and for the University as a whole.  The new updated REC Center will look really good; we are looking at pretty much a brand new building. It will be a great new environment to train and host meets in. It will also be very helpful for recruiting; it's always more exciting to bring recruits or fans to a great new exciting place that yet has so much great history behind it. Things are coming together - with diving, a renovated REC center, the new video board—it is all very exciting and we are thankful for all the improvements and additions. There will be a lot of exciting newness and freshness in the fall of 2014.
Â
What are the team's goals and expectations for this season?
PM: Our goal is always to get better—and whatever that is, we'll find out. We all know what we did last year and we want to springboard from that.  We know where we would want to be at the end of the year but we try not to get overwhelmed by that. We see it more as an opportunity of greatness that can present itself if we take the right steps and take advantage of all the great moments that we have every day to make ourselves better. We set small goals for every day, every workout, that are in alignment with the great opportunity that we can have at the end of the year. It is the same approach that we took last year and it seemed to work well. So, I would say that our main goal is to be focused on now and being in the moment every day.
Â
The Falcons will only host one home dual meet in 2013-14, as the Student Recreation Center is currently undergoing renovations during the current school year. The Falcons return 15 swimmers from last season's team that finished third at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Â
After a record breaking season in 2012-13, the Falcons will look to build upon their success in the pool this season. Head Coach Petra Martin enters her fourth season as the head coach, while assistant coach Michael Shelby will return for his third season.
Â
The Orange and Brown return individual record holders at six of 14 events this season. Brittany Szekely returns as the school record holder in the 100 free, while Joëlle Scheps returns with the school record in the 200 free. Emily Waller rounds out the individuals who return with school records in the freestyle events, as she is the current school record holder in the 500 free. In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Jordan Bullock returns as the school record holder. Sophomore Daniela Carrillo returns with school records in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.
Â
This summer, Carrillo represented Mexico at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia. She was the only student-athlete from Bowling Green State University to participate in the Games.
Â
The Falcons also return at least one individual in all five team relay events that have been part of a school record-breaking relay team. At the 200 free relay, Brittany Szekely returns from the relay team that set the school mark of 1:31.50 in 2012. Szekely, along with Joëlle Scheps and Hannah Newman, returns from the 2013 400 free relay team that set the school record with a time of 3:23.78. The 800 free school record was last broken in 2010, when Emily Waller—a 2013-14 senior and captain—was a freshman in Martin's first season at the helm. Both the 200 and 400 medley relay records were set last season, as Jordan Bullock returns in both events. Szekely was also a part of the 400 medley relay team that set a mark of 3:41.00.
Â
The Orange and Brown bring in nine freshmen this season, as they'll add depth and competition to the team at each event. The Falcons will look to build upon their third place finish from last season, as the seven upperclassmen will be relied on to show the 17 underclassmen what it takes for the Falcons to fight at the top of the MAC at the end of the season.
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